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News for 2013

6th August, 2013

Sainsbury’s Quartermile and South Clerk Street Stores organise Fun Day Fundraiser for all of the local Edinburgh Stores' staff, family and friends to attend.

On a bright and sunny day on Sunday 4th August 2013, Sainsbury’s Quartermile, with many of the other stores in Edinburgh, arranged a Fun Day Event at Edinburgh Academicals Rugby Park in Stockbridge and invited Venture Trust along! There were several activities to choose from to keep everyone entertained, ranging from raffles, bake sales, guess how many sweets are in the jar, a tombola, glitter tattoos and face painting.

Of course, Venture Trust was in charge of the face painting stall, with an additional raffle and guess how many sweets in the jar competition! After a slight reluctance from the kids, they were enthusiastically queuing up to choose flowers, butterflies, dogs and tigers to be painted on their faces and they seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. Whilst waiting, the parents took full advantage of our fantastic raffle and guess how many sweets are in the jar competition!

Sainsbury’s Quartermile Store Manager Karen said, “It’s been such a fantastic and fun day. I know that everyone has had a great time, especially the kids! It is always good to do events where Venture Trust can continue to increase its awareness and presence amongst the general public”.

So far our stall has raised just under £50, but we are awaiting many more donations from the day so the total will be even bigger!

A huge thank you to Hobbycraft Edinburgh for their generous donation of face paints and glitter, to Waverley Steps Starbucks,Cath Kidston, Dynamic Earth and Fabhatrix for all of their great raffle prize donations, as well as to our fabulous volunteer May Boyter! Thank you to all of you, we are extremely grateful and these events would not be possible without your help.

"We aren't in care because we are bad. We are in care because our mums and dads can't look after us properly".

Venture Trust are delighted to have joined Who Cares? Scotland's 'Pledge to Listen' campaign, directly tackling the stigma and discrimination which children and young people in care and care leavers face. Though our work with young people in care on our Inspiring Young Futures programme, we're all too aware of the issues facing these young people, and hope that you'll join us and 'Pledge to Listen' to young people in care. We're delighted that some of Venture Trust's participants have been able to add their voices to the campaign - sharing their real stories and experiences of the care system.

We hope that, by supporting Who Cares? Scotland with this initiative, more young people will have a positive journey through - and out of - the care system. Watch this video for more information about what you can do to support and promote the campaign.

We are delighted to welcome five guests from our Moving On: Malawi programme to Scotland. As part of the programme's handover to local partners, our five visitors are spending two months with Venture Trust in Scotland thanks to the Commonwealth Fellowship Scheme.

Here, we introduce our five Fellows. Read on for an introduction from Greg, our Project Officer in Malawi, and for each Fellow's own hopes and aspirations for their time in Scotland.

Samuel Mbweza (State Prosecutor)

From Greg:Sam was our first Malawian contact back in 2010 when Joe Connelly (our Head of Programmes) met him at the Ministry of Justice. Joe and Sam visited Kachere Juvenile Prison together and although Sam’s job is as a prosecutor for the State, he had never set foot inside a prison and especially a juvenile one. What Sam saw shocked him and has given him a professional drive to use incarceration as a last resort and in his job “to ensure that justice is just even for those vulnerable young people who cannot afford it”.

From Samuel: As a State Prosecutor working in the Ministry of Justice under the Director of Public Prosecutions my job is to represent the government in courts. The Constitution of Malawi empowers the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute all cases in Malawi that make us to handle every case that is brought to the directorate. In Scotland, I look forward to learn, learn, and learn. The experience I will gain I will first impart it to my colleagues in my office and also other organizations that deal with children in conflict with the law. I wish to see Mwai wosinthika becoming a hope for all the hopeless and helpless children in Malawi, a place where children would launch their dreams and see them come to pass and become responsible and productive citizens not only for Malawi but the entire world.

Fanny L Mwale (Police Officer)

From Greg:Fanny has been a great help to Venture Trust in her tireless commitment and passion for young people both in her work and in her own community in Area 24 of Lilongwe. As well as a very busy dayjob, as a “Agogo” (Grandmother) she has a very busy homelife after hours.

From Fanny: My goal is to become the best child prosecutor, divert as many child cases as possible, and reduce numbers of children in conflict with the law in Malawi. In Scotland, I want to experience how children in conflict with the law are assisted, and how reform is conducted.

Yotamu Yotsie Chaonaine (Police Officer)

From Greg: I first saw Chaonaine (Chewa for “He has been seen”) or Chao as we call him now, on the road to the prison .The police patrol vehicle he was driving very fast was packed full of prisoners I waved at him to slow down. Later he explained that he had to drive fast so they would not escape. It was the start of a really good working relationship and he assisted us to move many young boys from imprisonment.

From Chao: It is my wish of becoming a responsible leader both at my workplace as well as in my society. I hope to achieve this through the knowledge gained from different spheres, as it is said “knowledge is power”. I hope to return to Malawi filled with knowledge ready to disseminate to my colleagues through sensitisation meetings and submission of reports. I want to be planning on where, when, how to start a “mwai wosinthika” (a chance for change”) programme, and I will be filled with joy to have travelled by aeroplane out of Malawi for the first time in my life and to have seen Scotland a place where most of my ancestors have never been courtesy of Venture Trust, Scottish Government and the Commonwealth Professional fellowship.

From Greg: I first met Sakwiya (chewa meaning “he is not angry”) at the District social Welfare Office inputting data. I must say he did not look overly happy about it! However once he joined our “mwai wosinthika” (a chance for change) programme and became a facilitator it was clear he had a real passion and drive for working with young people “at risk“. He has worked voluntarily alongside Venture Trust for nearly two years as well as doing his own 24/7 job as managing the Social Transit Centre for children “in or on the streets” of Lilongwe.

From Chosa: My job here , is so delicate in the sense that l work with children and young men ensuring their emotional and physical wellbeing thus enabling them to trust me hence being able to protect them from any form of abuse that may hinder their developmental growth to become useful citizens of Malawi. During my stay [in Scotland] l will be looking forward most in the sharing of skills, culture and the experience in technology as compared to my home country friendship development, and that hospitality that will not make me regret why l left the “warm heart of Africa” (Malawi) and of course learning the Scottish sense of humour ;-)

Kenneth Thom (Prison Warder/HIV & AIDS Counsellor)

From Greg: Thom was the first warder at Kachere Prison to demonstrate a real desire to work with the young people there. Unlike many of his colleagues at the time he was not afraid to be open to change. Working with Venture Trust within Kachere has been a huge personal challenge for Thom, in terms of conflict amongst his previous colleagues. However, there is about to be a new management at Kachere Reformatory Centre with the a new Officer in Charge and her young and freshly trained staff from the training College - Thom will surely return with new inspiration to make a real change and his knowledge will fall on fertile ground!

From Kenneth: I come to work with Greg at Kachere in 2011. When Venture Trust come to work at Kachere my responsibilities, translation ability and openness to learn suited the criteria of Venture Trust. I helped Greg in translation during “one-to-one” interviews with young offenders. I now conduct these interviews finding out about their education, accommodation, health HIV and AIDS and relationship with their parents or guardians and also help them to make their plans and doing Venture trust session in prison emphasising behaviour change. My trip to Scotland will have a huge impact on my day to day work as I will acquire new knowledge and skills that will help me to effectively assist the Malawi Prison service, and I will interact with other fellows from other countries sharing experiences. I want to visit Polmont Young Offenders Institute in Glasgow which is the equivalent to Kachere in Malawi and maybe set up a relationship.

We look forward to keeping you updated about our Fellows' time and adventures in Scotland.

"We risk casting adrift society's most excluded". Today’s Scotsman Newspaper (17th July 2013) contains a powerful feature article written by Venture Trust’s Chief Executive Mark Bibbey on the benefits of investing in support to Scotland’s most marginalised young people, and the risks of ignoring or excluding them from employability opportunities.

The article highlights the importance of effective, intensive and long-term support of the sort Venture Trust provides, to help those with whom most other agencies cannot or will not work.

In these challenging economic times, increasing support for our work is absolutely critical. We are genuinely grateful for the support that you - our followers and supporters - have provided for our extremely successful work to date, helping hundreds of individuals every year to make and sustain positive changes in their lives. As ever, we do need more support to sustain this impact.

Thank you for your ongoing support in helping us to keep offering individuals “A Chance for Change”, and to escape the cycles of disadvantage or complexity they have experienced in life. Please do have a read of the full Scotsman article, and let us know your thoughts.

24th June, 2013

Supporters take on physically demanding challenges to raise lots of money for Venture Trust!

During this month, two incredible physical challenges have been completed by Venture Trust’s own supporters, raising well over £2,000! The more recent of these two events happened at the weekend and was the daunting ultra marathon ‘The Wall’. A 69 mile run, done over two days, from Carlisle Castle to Newcastle Gateshead Quayside, involves crossing over Hadrian’s Wall and aims to test all competitors to the absolute limit! Supporters Dave, Neil, Alex and Ben all successfully finished this gruelling run and have so far managed to raise a fantastic £1,257.50 for Venture Trust! Team leader Davesaid, “I can think of easier ways to get from Carlisle to Newcastle, but by running those 69 miles of enormous hills, uneven trails, narrow roads, endless cattle grids, muddy paths, river crossings and giant stone staircases all in the company of more rain than Applecross in July, we achieved something amazing both for ourselves and for Venture Trust. We couldn’t have done it without each other or the motivation of all those donated pounds that will benefit VT participants. Despite the course’s best efforts I am pleased to report that the team is still in one piece, and looking forward to some slightly shorter races in future…”

The second event, which happened earlier this month, undertaken by Venture Trust Outreach Worker Dan, was the Ride UK 24 Manchester to London Cycle. Another truly demanding challenge that required all of Dan’s physical and mental willpower from start to finish! He rode from the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, leaving at 11am on Saturday 7th June, to the Hackney Marshes in London,arriving the following morning at 7am. Dan remarked, “Despite feeling mentally drained a few times during the night and the difficult route in and around London to the finish, I still felt physically fit and really really enjoyed the challenge. I am already thinking about what to do next year”! To date, Dan has raised an incredible £1,218.75 for Venture Trust!

A huge thank you to Dan, Dave, Alex, Ben and Neil for the events and the fundraising they have done. All the money raised by our supporters makes a massive difference to the lives of the young people Venture Trust works with.

If you have been inspired by our supporters’ fundraising stories and are looking for a challenge to raise money for Venture Trust this year, check out our events page or email holly.child@venturetrust.org.uk for more information.